May 27th: Second Day of Anger

Contrary to what it was called, May 27th was a day of jubilation all across Egypt. For weeks, this day was advertised as a replica of Jan 25th. People were to save their protests and join in for a day of nation wide outcry.

In Cairo, we headed to the legendary Tahrir 'liberation' Square while Alexandrians prepared for a Million Man March and many others across 12 governates took to their respective protesting spots. Coming up to Tahrir, you're met with a security checkpoint...a civilian checkpoint. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) had already announced that no military soldiers or personnel would be anywhere near the square that day on the grounds of freedom of peaceful protest. Although this was misinterpreted by some as lack of protection, it was the smartest decision SCAF could have made. 

Passing through the civilian checkpoint is like passing through airport security. Your bags are checked and you are patted down...after being cleared, you are welcome to the brilliance that is Tahrir Square. Simply walking in, you feel as though you are somewhere else. Everyone is welcome and everyone is equal...all united for one purpose. 

There were six stages set up around the square. For those of you unfamiliar with Tahrir, here is a brief picture (click to enlarge):

Yes, I'm well aware Tahrir Circle would be a more suitable name...but that doesn't really roll off the tongue, does it? That light pink building in the far left is the Cairo Museum...a definite must see if you're au Caire. 

The square was pretty empty before Friday prayer...for those of you unfamiliar with Friday prayer, it's a lot like a church sermon on Sundays except it happens on a Friday (I know that would have never occurred to you so you're welcome) and there's a Khutba to begin with in which the imam (a sheikh that leads prayer) gives a 20 minute sermon before leading communal prayer. This usually occurs at noon and is only mandatory for men. Women are, of course, always welcome although never obligated to attend.  Our demands were outlined around the square (click to enlarge):

Considering that the dominant faiths in Egypt are Islam and Christianity, whenever we protest on either Friday or Sunday, the religious sermons are always held in the square and all faiths are invited to attend. During the revolution as well as before, whenever either sermon was held in the square, members of the other faith would form a circle around the square to protect it as they pray. It's what I love most about Egypt...while the rest of the world is focused on religious discrimination, we are not only promoting but practicing religious unity. The best part is that it's instinctive...it's not planned..people just do it. It's amazing. The world could learn from that...because it doesn't matter if you're Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, secular..or even if you're a drool-ridden admirer of Adonis and the Greek Gods.We're all Egyptian. We're all here for Egypt. 

And that's the spirit in the Tahrir and across the country. Your demands are my demands. One nation, united. It's amazing. It simply blows me away. 

Sorry, got a little carried away there. So yes, Friday prayer was conducted in the Square and everyone joined in..men, women, kids and everything in between (don't kid yourself...you know what I mean) This picture was during the khotba as everyone listened to the imam-- equivalent of a pastor. (click to enlarge):

During the Khotba, the sheikh opened with ''Jan 25th's revolution continues and is still alive today until we achieve whats best for this nation!' -Sheikh @ #Tahrir SQ #may27' 

It was filled with many patriotic statements and encouraging messages...and yes, I did just copy-paste one of my tweets to save myself the effort. 

The sheikh was on stage preaching to the crowd of thousands, '''We won't give up on our dignity after today!!' #tahrir #may27' 

What of the man who stole millions?? The law goes for everyone...no diff between a small and a big man!' #Tahrir #may27

The most important message he kept repeating was 'SCAF and people are one for the good of this country!' So far, SCAF had kept its promise and there were no military suits to be found. After prayer, the patriotic chants continued, only louder and more dominant. 

'LONG LIVE EGYPT! Hold your head up high, youre EGYPTIAN!!' #Tahrir #may27

The crowd's response was earth-shaking. You could literally feel the square shake beneath your feet as they cheered and jumped up and down.

'The pyramids are right there. LOOK at what we're capable of! Jan 25th! Let's finish what we started.' 

Crowds were pouring in after prayer as thousands of people came on marches from Mohandiseen, Zamalek, Heliopolis etc. This is the march from Mostafa Mahmoud (click to enlarge):

The banner reads "the people want a new constitution.' 

By 2:00 PM, the square was filled with people and numbers were estimated to be at 20,000 and up (click to enlarge).

The other five stages were occupied with different groups making their demands. People were migrating from one stage to the next, listening and joining in. Another stage was on a patriotic roll as well, singing the national anthem at the top of their lungs...belady belady belady, laky hoby w foa'ady.... 'my country, my country, my country, you have my love and my loyalty,' people belted out as they crowded around the stage. 

The next stage was preaching that the people wanted change. Since February 11th (the day Mubarak stepped down), SCAF had yet to answer our demands...not in a criticizing way though because they kept reiterating that the military and people are one hand working together - a direct translation from the arabic saying- and they merely wanted to see change happen faster. 

Walking around the square, the unthinkable happened. That's right, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) youth were present moving around the square as well. This is interesting considering that the MB had announced it would not join the protests as they were designed to 'drive a wedge between the people and SCAF.' Of course they're thrilled with SCAF considering they are now a legal party allowed to operate freely...but then again, we should have seen that coming. They only join in on protests when it furthers their interests...hence their heavy, helpful and charming (no sarcasm there) presence during the Jan 25th revolution. Sigh. 

Anyway, another stage which was primarily dedicated to the coptic Christians to make their demands was quickly occupied with both a priest and Muslim speaker who were preaching religious unity as shown below (click to enlarge):

Doesn't that just fulfill your stereotype? Ha! Seriously though, the support and response they received was really touching. I've already ranted about that though so moving swiftly on...

There was a speaker who seemed a little irritated..okay, he was peeved. Majorly. He kept complaining about the conduct of the previous regime... he kept repeating:

The people are ready for elections and democracy..always have been but the government isn't. #Tahrir #may27

Since I was in a relatively good mood, I didn't linger. Misery loves company but it aint going to be me ;)

I should mention that music could be heard everywhere across the square as performers took to the stage. Ramy Essam, the revolution singer (as we call him), was present singing at the top of his lungs. He is famously known for composing and singing the revolution song (english subtitles right thur. Why you don't pay me for this five star service, I really don't know) during the 18 days of the Jan 25th revolution. 

Vendors were taking advantage and selling food and cold drinks to people inside the square. It was brilliant! You can see a food stand in the lower half of the picture there (click to enlarge):

There really was no reason to leave. And I noticed that there was more incoming traffic than outgoing... more and more people were coming to Tahrir and people were going to greet them.

The more the merrier! RT @aaboulenein: 10,000 strong march on its way and we need 50 volunteers to secure their entrance #may27 #tahrir

What was obvious was that if the numbers were low, which the MB said they would since they were not attending, the protest would be shot to the ground. But the numbers were high and only increasing... it was a running joke that God was on our side considering that in the midst of a month of scorching heat that often makes you want to check your organs haven't melted, may 27th was the only day when it was cloudy, cool and drizzling from time to time. Oh, Allah would have been on our side that day too if any terrorism was going down...too bad. (if I had any Tea Party followers, that would be more amusing. Dang). 

Parents of martyrs were in square and running into one of them, a distraught mother, she claimed that while she feels as dead as her son most days, she feels his spirit in the square and knows he didn't die in vain. I'm not usually an emotional person but just her face and the way she said it....okay, i didn't break down and sob but I mean, some sort of tear shaped drop of water may have somehow...

Okay. Anyway. We agreed that protests would end by 8:00 PM in order to preserve the dignity of the protest..and very few people stayed past that point. 

Our demands were made cheerfully and peacefully that day...and they will continue to be made until we put Egypt on the right track. I'm not too worried....

...Egypt's a great nation. Always has been.
**Picture credits do not all belong to me.

All in a Day: From Columbia to Mexico, Louisiana and Illinois

My Saturday: Went through Mexico, Louisiana and Clarksville to reach the final destination: Mississippi River. And it all started with a rude awakening:

As you can see, this was addressed to me from The Gregz (the honorary inhabitant of 228 Excellence). Clearly, it could not be ignored. We piled up in the car and drove out stopping for breakfast at Sonic. Sonic is reputable for its food that tastes the same regardless of what you choose and slushies which conveniently gave me a brain freeze about a half hour after I had woken up. It was lovely, I assure you.

And so we embarked on our tour of 'REAL America.' Our first stop was Mexico...Mexico, MO. Do you see how clever I am? I agree. Mexico was a small town off the highway that resembled one that was considered for filming locations for Zombieland. It was deserted and everything was closed, but it redeemed itself once we hit the town square and found this:

A statue of liberty. I kid you not. Awesome.

Next stop was Louisiana... Louisiana, MO. It gets you every time, doesn't it? This was definitely the favorite. It had a charm to it that was simply indescribable...or as C put it, adorable (pronounced: adoraybleh). We simply drove through it on the way there and vowed we'd stop on the way back.

Next stop? Driving lesson numero uno. That's right, I was put behind the wheel of a Mustang. If your airbags weren't working before, I'd make sure they are now.  I wasn't necessarily terrible but thanks to the great coaching skills of The Gregz and the occasional sarcasm from C, I managed to be able to drive forward and do a 180 turn. Reversing on the other hand? Might take some time...

I left my mark on that parking lot. Literally. You can still go see the skid marks.

Next: Clarksville, MO. It's tourist center was a tug boat. Ha. We stopped in there to pick up some brochures and moved on. The best analogy I can come up with is a cakeface. Once you pile on the makeup, it's pretty enough. It didn't have any natural charm like Louisiana but enjoyable nonetheless.

Clarksville's slogan is 'touch the Mississippi river' which we did. It was bloody cold water but we went down there and sampled it with a fingertip. Then we took a quick tour on foot of the town, going into the stores and taking a look. An interesting tradition they have is to have a guest book that customers sign stating their names and where they're from. I was the most badass with Switz/Egypt until we got to Trish's Treasures where I was beat out by a Russian. Goddammit.

The Gregz bought a necklace for his mother (cue in the awwwww) while C chose to further her weekend traditions by adding to the shot glass collection. After that, we got into the car and were on our way once again. We attempted to find an Indian memorial ground but failed miserably and turned our search to dinner. The Gregz opted for a restaurant across this bridge into Illinois. Check out the view:

It was called the Lighthouse inn and stayed true to its name by having a fake Lighthouse outside despite promoting a Hawaiian theme on the inside. We were thoroughly confused for a good ten minutes before we became preoccupied by the 'sub-par at most' quality of food as The Gregz put it. I got a Kansas strip while he and C split some fried chicken, the Lighthouse's speciality. We relaxed for a little bit and then were on our way to the DQ (Dairy Queen) for a blizzard and some dipping cones. Way better than dinner.

At this point, The Gregz had hit the rumble strip 16 times. Surely this reassures you of my driving skills so far considering that he was the coach of lesson one not to mention he repeatedly broke driving rules after warning me not to do so myself... It's okay, you're allowed to hope I get hit by a bus before I get behind the wheel again. The soundtrack to our trip ranged from Backstreet Boys/N'sync to some Flo Rida to The Gregz trying to steal some Bieber time. C wouldn't let him, naturally and thankfully.

So there you are. I hit up Mexico, Louisiana, Clarksville and Illinois in one day. America is awesome, ain't it?

P.S. Quick shout out to C who provided most of those pictures! Thanks!

Jan 25th, 2011: Yom el 3'adab

Yom El 3'adab:

I think a blog post is long overdue for what is happening in Egypt this week. As stated, Jan 25th, 2011 was the iconic day that Egyptians mobilized to fight for their freedom. They did so using the popular social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. We have a saying in Egypt that was only recently devised in light of these events meaning: Facebook for events, Twitter for logistics and Youtube to show the world.

A Facebook event was created called Yom el 3'adab (The day of anger) in which all Egyptians will go to the streets to protest the current regime and demand a change. Before I continue with the events that have occured ever since, allow me to clarify that we do not despise Hosni Mubarak. In his 30 year rule, he has achieved a lot and our country has prospered greatly over the years. Not only did he maintain peace with Israel after his predecessor, Anwar El Sadat, was assassinated for signing such a peace treaty, he also increased exports and imports in the country as well as improved our foreign relations with the west and east.

However, Egypt's regime faces a problem that many, almost all, countries face today: corruption. Every government in the world is corrupt to some extent, some more than others. On jan 25th, we, as a nation, decided to stand up to this corruption. Thank you for everything you've done for us Hosni but we need a change.

Twitter was used to work out logistics for when and where between protesters all over the nation, from Cairo to Sohag and Dumyat. Unfortunately, the government's first reaction was to block internet access all over the nation to prevent further plans for protests. In the mean time, the military attempted to use force by deploying tear gas and spraying us with water. Prisoners escaped from the prisons amidst the chaos and the government found itself in a state of panic. It cut cell phone use, landlines, electricity and water but they didn't understand. The revolution had started. They can't stop us now.

Tahrir Sq the night of the Day of Anger:

As this happened in across the nation, us Egyptians abroad were standing in solidarity with our country. Protests sparked all over the globe including UK, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, USA, Canada and many more. Along with my sister and best friend, I took to twitter to transfer the news from the heart of the capital to those of us abroad. I found I could not rely on formerly dependable news channels such as CNN and BBC. These reputable channels were misrepresenting the truth and claiming that we were having an islamic revolution. Fox news was having a field day and seemed to be sending correspondents to Cairo to find people to support their already pre-made judgement on the happenings in the nation. It was as if all three were competing for the golden cup of complete and utter ignorance and misrepresentation of the truth....and the sad part? It's hard to pick a winner.

We recruited others and took to Twitter to bring people the TRUTH. We are NOT having an islamic revolution and contrary to the moron, interviewed on CNN, who believes we are planning to elect Bin Laden, we are not. The common fear seems to be that we will allow the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) to take charge and succeed Mubarak.

Our response? NO. 


I understand that it is in the West's interest to keep islamophobia alive and well but I assure you the MB will NOT lead Egypt into the future. They do not have a fanbase in the nation at all and they know it judging by their explicit statement to the nation: 'We will not be presenting a presidential candidate from the Brotherhood.' And even if they do, we will not allow them.

We are and always have been a liberal country. More liberal than you may think. Many of you have been plagued with stereotypes of the middle east and my only response is the Twitter outrage about 'made in the USA' tear gas canisters being fired on people:

The protests continued and I was shocked to see the BBC presenting pictures of the 25th as those of the 26th and 27th. This was complete crap: Egypt had calmed down a lot and those were no longer accurate. The only objective good source of news was Al Jazeera English. I urge you to tune in for your regular news on a daily basis.

The president finally gave a speech at midnight (local time in Cairo) on Jan 28th. He announced he had asked the government to resign and will be instating a new one. Protesters were not impressed and continued demanding that he himself resign. He appointed Omar Soleiman, the head of our intelligence agency, as our vice president. This did not placate the protesters but they regained internet access and cell phone/landline access.

It didn't last but it was long enough for protesters to plan the 'Million Man March' on Feb 1st, 2011in which one million Egyptians planned to meet at 9:00 AM at Tahrir Square (the center of all the action) and will march on the presidential palace. As soon as the govt officials caught wind, they sought to prevent it by cutting internet once again and all railways leading to Cairo.

This march did not happen but protesters sought to increase their numbers by beckoning all Egyptians to the square. At the same time, a mirror demonstration took place at Mahatet Masr Square in Alexandria. Google and Twitter partenered up and created SpeaktoTweet to allow Egyptians to tweet from the heart of the action. They merely had to call a number, leave a voicemail and it would be automatically posted online.

Tahrir Square on Feb 1st as millions gathered:

The president made an announcement at midnight on Feb 1st that he will be stepping down but intends to complete his term until September 2011. All protesters were enraged and continued demonstrations all through the night demanding that the president step down immediately. At the same time, pro-Mubarak protesters had surfaced and were doing their best to intervene. Following the speech, they proceeded to provoke those in Tahrir Square and Mahatet Masr and the army was forced to fire warning gunshots in the air in order to prevent violence. A summary of the days events can be found in these pictures.

The protests are still ongoing today but as a nation, we are preparing for a new era. I couldn't be any prouder to be Egyptian. We have stood together in a way no nation has before. We made a silent pact to protect the streets and our history and will continue to do so. Reports of the museum and ancient relics being under attack have led the world to believe they need protection. They do not. They are representatives of our history and no one values them more than we do: we can and will protect them.

This demonstration is about standing up for our nation and our freedom. We will eliminate corruption and be led by a president that we elect and choose to represent us. We were anti and pro-mubarak protesters but today we're pro-Egypt, all united to push our nation forward and do what is best for US.

(translation: the Egyptian revolution is coming)

For accurate coverage from the streets of Egypt:
twitter.com/nancyelattar
twitter.com/belattar
twitter.com/ysalah
twitter.com/amiram87

Ladies and Gents, Egypt is not a desert.

Shocker, I know. I'm sure most of your imaginations of Cairo include lots of sand, pyramids and camels. I'm about to blow your minds.

On one of the final days of my stay in Cairo, we went downtown Giza for breakfast at Felfela. It's a traditional Egyptian restaurant that offers all the delicacies anyone should try during their stay. The first page of the menu was super interesting since it had the autographs of all kinds of famous people who had been to Felfela and guess what we found?

That's right! Jimmy Carter graced Felfela at some point...Smart man! I certainly hope his visit went smoother than the British tourist group that sat behind us. As they came in and looked at the menu, the lady calls over the waiter and asks, in all seriousness, 'do you have any pizza?'

Oh, tourists. They were everywhere. Apparently Egypt is the place to be this year since it was swarming with tourists, so much so that it was easier to count the number of Egyptians in an area.

After breakfast, we headed toward the Cairo Tower. This tower stands 43 meters tall and provides an amazing view over Cairo. On a good day, with no fog, you can even see the Pyramids from the panorama.

The top of this tower has a café, restaurant and panorama. We went up to the panorama and had a look at the beautiful view. While up there, we encountered a couple of pharaohs in person! Naturally a kodak moment (click to enlarge):

Cairo is a super busy city that's crowded and loud like any other large city but from so high up, it looks so peaceful and traffic looks calm. We were there at 11:00 AM so the fog was still dominating the city and we could only make out the vague outline of the Great Pyramid but I got pictures of the city. Prepare to be amazed (click to enlarge):

That's right. Cairo is a huge, cosmopolitan city that's overflowing with people and life that extends past Ramsis' daily routine.  Clearly, we don't live in pyramids. Amazing, no? For those of you who aren't too clear, the body of water in the pictures is the Nile and most of the hotspots in Cairo are situated on/ by the Nile. 

Which brings me to our evening in downtown Zamalek (one of many districts in Cairo) at Sequoia. Sequoia is a fancy restaurant right by the Nile that caters to only elite party-ers. No, no keggers here. In the summer, it's an open air restaurant but in the winter, they enclose it in a classy tent-like appearance. Check it out (click to enlarge): 

And there it is! The love of my life: Sushi. Four of us shared that plate and it was absolutely delicious! We were there until pretty late and the beauty of Cairo, and Egypt in general, is that we're nocturnal as a nation....So the party is only getting started at two or three AM! There were about fifteen people there that night and so it was super fun!

Definitely a must visit for all!

I'll be gracing Columbia late on tuesday night so I do believe this will be my last post from genf.

See (most of) you soon!

Religious Discrimination

Greetings! If you're wondering, I am back in geneva but I've been recovering from a cold so I haven't been able to update you. I will be blogging about the rest of my Cairo trip but until I get the pictures from B, I thought I'd discuss something else that has been eating at me.

As you may or may not knowon new year's eve, a church was bombed in Alexandria while I was in Egypt. It is utterly heartbreaking that someone would bomb a place of worship while knowing there are people inside, praying and preparing for the new year. This attack was condemned nationally as well as worldwide and was certainly a tragic way to start 2011.

What irritates me the most though is that the people responsible for this attack are attempting to enforce and project an image of religious discrimination amongst Egyptians. As an Egyptian, I can assure you that there is no such thing on a personal level. In our day-to-day lives there is no difference between a Christian Egyptian and a Muslim Egyptian, as there shouldn't be. The religion you choose to practice is your own and no one will judge you or mistreat you because of it. Not in Egypt.

The entire world has been mislead by this treacherous act of hate that has no basis or grounds. Certain terrorist groups have been blamed for this attack but it has made it quite clear that terrorism is not just a battle the west is facing. It's one that we have all become part of. The west is under the impression that these attacks are due to jealousy of their 'freedoms.' Clearly this is not the case. This was not an attack on Christians, it was one made on Egyptians. People of all faiths died that night, Muslims and Christians included. And as a nation, we will not let the terrorism separate us. We will remain united regardless of what they choose to do.

That is why on Jan.6th, we refused to have another attack. Muslims all over the nation gathered to guard the churches as people went in to pray and prepare for their new year. The picture below was taken that night in Heliopolis, a district in Cairo, Egypt.

Similar protests occured all over Cairo, in all five districts, outside every Church. The same in Alexandria and the rest of the nation. In addition, many attended mass as well. I hope everyone enjoyed their new years celebration!

Sneak preview: Coming up next is the rest of the Cairo trip including Sequoia, paintballing and more! Stay tuned :)

Day trip to Alexandria, Egypt!

Hey! While I am currently blogging from Cairo, I spent the entire day in Alex today visiting family. The trip started really early this morning with a train at 9:00 AM (meaning I had to be up at 7:00 to catch it on three hours of sleep...cue in the sympathy please) from Ramsis train station in down town Cairo.

This train was direct to Alex and made no stops on the way there spanning about two hours and a half of traveling time...aka Columbia- St.Louis or Geneva-Lausanne. It was the first time I'd travelled with the family in a while so it was nice to catch up on almost a year of stories and such. Hilariously enough, we also got to hear everyone else's stories...As background info, those of you unfamiliar with Cairo, it's a huge city with almost five downtowns and insane traffic that you would find in any city of that size. There was a man on the train with us who was on the phone speaking with someone and complaining that he had a flight to Saudi Arabia from Alexandria at 3:30 PM. His problem? He has the wrong passport. He has the new passport that contains his Egyptian visa (surprisingly, since he spoke perfect Egyptian Arabic) but the old one contains his Saudi one. And he's on a direct train to Alexandria that will arrive at 11:30 AM. What should he do?

Whoever he was speaking to decided the fastest way would be to get off, take a train back to Cairo, fight downtown rush hour traffic, get his passport and take the next train back. Terrible idea. Luckily for him, Egyptians are very helpful in their nature and the entire compartment shouted out ideas to get this passport ASAP. The final solution was that this man's friend would take the passport and give it to the driver of the next Greyhound heading to Alexandria. I don't know if this worked, but I sincerely hope it did.

Otherwise, the train was filled with tourists all heading to see the legendary Alexandria library renowned for once containing all knowledge available to the ancient Egyptians including the mystery of the last standing wonder of the world. Now, the largest library in the Middle East, it stands tall, modern and a tourist magnet. I saw Brits, Germans, Americans and Asians reading tourist books and getting ready for their visit.

Moving on: at 11:30 AM, we arrived in Masr train station in Alexandria and hailed a cab to my grandmother's place. We hung out with family, talked and caught up. The highlight? Dinner.

Alexandria is on the coast, one of those rare places that can be a summer resort as well as a lively city, and so it's infamous for its fish. I guarantee you, you've never had fish as amazing as it is in Alex...and that's a promise. Our trips over there usually include a fish-based dinner and so I was super excited. There are two kinds: grilled and fried. Just to be clear, they take the fish as it is, add a mix of spices and herbs to it (a different mix to each kind) and then fry it or grill it. I'll be honest: I'm a bigger fan of the grilled but they were both, as always, simply delicious. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long since the last direct train left at 7:00 PM...so, in our last-minute nature, we were hailing a cab at 6:35 PM.

Was traffic smooth and lovely? No. Did we make it? Yes. Did the drive over there include some serious speed limit breakers and other James Bond moves? Of course.

We spent the ride back reminiscing and talking about our last visits to Alex as well as the highlights of the day. It was a good one!

Tomorrow? Roaming around Cairo and New Years partying. Stay tuned :)

Temporary Farewell + Cairo

Hey! I'm afraid this is going to be a quickie (pun entirely intended) to keep you all updated.

Today, I went on a shopping spree this morning to bond avec la famille and then I had a ... aka a reunion with my favorite Russians: Dima and Ksen. While I skype Dima on a regular basis while I'm in the states, meeting up is one of my fav times during break. He is absolutely hilarious and since Ksen and I don't skype, it's always super fun to see her too. I took the tram from Balexert to Cornavin (the main train station) and then walked to Starbucks au bord du lac....right on the lake.  We sat there for about an hour catching up and making politically incorrect jokes. It was a welcome change and I absolutely loved every minute of it but I had lots to do at home so I couldn't stay long.

I am now home and packing for Cairo, Egypt tomorrow! That's right, ladies and gents, I'll be gracing the land of the pharoes tomorrow for eight days until the 6th of January.  Activities will include:

• Sandboarding 
• Paintballing
• Day trip to Alexandria to sight-see (ex: the legendary library of Alexandria and more!)
• El Fishawy Cafe (Traditional Cafe in old Cairo-- http://bit.ly/e77UbW)
• Abu Shakra Restaurant for kebab and kofta (one of the traditional foods in egypt-- my fav and one for all you carnivores out there) 
• New years + birthday partying 
• City Stars (massive mall in Cairo-- www.citystars.com.eg) 
• Pyramids of Giza Sounds and Light Show (a taste: http://bit.ly/alXm2q )

And lots more that I can't remember right now..I won't have internet aside from the few minutes of Wi-Fi I'll pick up here and there so I'll try to keep you all updated!

Otherwise, expect a ton of pictures when I get back. I hope you all have a wonderful new year!